10 Best Bicycle Cities in the World

Copenhagenize Design Company
Score: 59
2011 Rank: 4
One of the world's biggest cities Tokyo maintains a rigorous drivers' training that motorists must go through in Japan which keeps the streets safer than many other countries. Tokyo is also preparing to let the metro run 24 hours, which will increase the number of bicycles as public transport often goes hand in hand with bicycle traffic.

9. Dublin, Ireland

Copenhagenize Design Company
Score: 60
2011 Rank: 9
The Great Bike Hope among emerging bicycle cities. Dublin's incredibly successful bike share programme has been instrumental in reestablishing the bicycle on the urban landscape.
New larger-scale infrastructure projects and a city-wide cycling strategy can take the city to the next level as it tackles rising urbanization. 30 km/h zones and bicycle infrastructure have combined to make Dublin the safest EU capital.

8. Berlin, Germany

Copenhagenize Design Company
Score: 62
2011 Rank: 5
Berlin seems to have the right pragmatic attitude towards bicycle traffic that you see in Amsterdam and Copenhagen. People just on with it.
This willingness among the population - free of narrow sub-cultural influences - is a gift to the city.

7. Malmö, Sweden

Copenhagenize Design Company
Score: 63
2011 Rank: None
Sweden's third-largest city has long looked to Copenhagen for inspiration. Malmö is certainly gaining the world's eye with financial commitment, fantastic and innovative communications and a real desire for modernizing their city. They've committed €47 million to boosting bicycle traffic over the next 7 years and their "No Ridiculous Car Trips" campaign has redefined bicycle communications for many other cities.
Bicycle lanes are easier to find in GPS and they remain balanced with helmet promotion.

6. Eindhoven, Netherlands

Copenhagenize Design Company
Score: 66
2011 Rank: None
Why It Works: The third Dutch city to make the Top 20, Eindhoven deserves its ranking at number 6. What it lacks in the innovation exhibited by other Emerging Bicycle Cities on this list it makes up for with a solid base from which to further develop its work.
Projects like the new Floating Roundabout are visionary - especially given the Dutch tendency to rest on their laurels. If that kind of commitment continues, Eindhoven will climb the ranking with ease.

5. Antwerp, Belgium (tie)

Copenhagenize Design Company
Score: 72
2011 Rank: None
Influenced by the bicycle culture across the Dutch border, the city has maintained a steady level of bicycle traffic for a number of years.
With a modal share of 16% in the city, it is clear that the bicycle is a main transport mode. Political engagement is impressive - in the 2006 elections, 100 km of bicycle infrastructure was promised and it was completed in the months up to the 2012 elections. The bicycle parking facility at the Central train station is fantastic and shows what is possible.
Antwerp has also introduced a bike share system which has proved popular due to intelligent placement of stations and saturation.

5. Nantes, France (tie)

Copenhagenize Design Company
Score: 72
2011 Rank: None
One city in Europe which is taking a serious look at a changing the game. Enormous political will is key to the paradigm shift in the city and the metro area. While positive political signals are vital, the city will spend €40 million on cycling between 2009 and 2014 and have increased their bicycle infrastructure to almost 400 km.
Nantes was the first city in France to allow right turns on red for bicycle users, and a great bike share system and subsidies for cargo bike purchases also boost Nantes' ranking.

4. Bordeaux, France (tie)

Copenhagenize Design Company
Score: 76
2011 Rank: None
The city has invested brilliantly in bike lanes and cycle tracks. There are 200 km in the city and 400 in all when you include the surrounding CUB - Communauté Urbaine de Bordeaux.
Bordeaux is taking bicycle transport seriously, and it goes hand in hand with the city's new investment in an impressive tramway network. As often a tramway city becomes a bicycle friendly city.
Bordeaux's bike share system VCub is also a great success and serves to place bicycles beneath a great many citizens. France is the country in Europe that is taking bicycle transport most seriously and Bordeaux has become the leader.

4. Seville, Spain (tie)

Copenhagenize Design Company
Score: 76
2011 Rank: None
From a modal share of 0.5% in 2006, the city went from zero to hero and now boasts 7% modal share. The rapid rise in bicycle traffic was due to visionary political will. 80 km of bicycle infrastructure was completed in just one year and more was added later.
The transformation was rapid, intense and positive. Other cities look to Seville for inspiration and they have shown what is possible. Their bike share system played an equal role in bringing the bicycles back. Indeed, you can't have a bike share system if you don't have infrastructure for people to ride them on.

3. Utrecht, Netherlands

Copenhagenize Design Company
Score: 77
2011 Rank: None
Utrecht is a world-leader among smaller cities for showing what it possible regarding bicycle traffic.
The 640,000 people in the Metro area, as well as the city itself, enjoy a premier network of bicycle infrastructure and fantastic usage levels. Videos of Utrecht's bicycle rush hours have served to place the city on the bicycle culture map for a wider audience and city is a must to visit for planners from around the world.

2. Copenhagen, Denmark

Copenhagenize Design Company
Score: 81
2011 Rank: 2
From an urban design perspective, Copenhagen is second-to-none when it comes to a well-designed and uniform bicycle infrastructure network.
The Bondam Effect continues to influence the city and a great number of bicycle infrastructure projects are underway. A whole series of bicycle/pedestrian bridges over the harbour, the continued work on a network of bicycle superhighways and completing missing links like Gothersgade.

1. Amsterdam, Netherlands

Copenhagenize Design Company
Score: 83
2011 Rank: 1
Amsterdam defends the title as the world's most bicycle-friendly city in the 2013 Copenhagenize Index. The city continues to do well in nearly every category.
What the city lacks in a uniform infrastructure design it more than makes up for with its impressive saturation of bicycle traffic in the compact city centre.
The cycling atmosphere is relaxed, enjoyable, and as mainstream as you can get. There are few places we enjoy urban cycling as much as in Amsterdam.

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